Womanist Biblical Scholar Reflections

On this blogspot I focus on social justice, womanist biblical interpretation, & reflect on my personal journey. I welcome your constructive responses. I don't expect you to agree with everything I share, but reflect & dialogue with me.

"Womanism and/or black feminism (some women prefer the latter
self-designation, although they are not synonymous) has always concerned
itself with intersectionality or with the destruction of interconnected
forms of oppression that impact black women’s lives (and other women of
color) and their communities. Black women experience multiple forms of
oppression, simultaneously. Such oppressions include racism, sexism, and
classism...."

"Social justice for black women and their communities continues to be a
struggle against interlocking forms of oppression. Because of the
interrelated impact of race, gender, and class on “black, brown, and
yellow” lives and especially on the lives of women and children of
color, women of color who ignore race, gender, or class issues do so to
the detriment of the larger community. If a black male focuses on race
while ignoring or participating in gender bias against black women, he
is exercising his male privilege. If white women demand gender parity
without regard for the impact of racial bias on black women, they
exercise their privileged position as white women. When elite women of
color focus on racial and gender bias without regard for the impact of
classism on poor women, men, and children of any race, they are
exercising class privilege..."

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Crucifixions were community or public events, spectacles (like modern-day lynchings from trees, with nooses). They could not be effective rituals for public displays of dishonorable and violent state sanctioned death without the crowds who cheered, jeered, and even cried at the sight of a tortured human being, as life slowly faded with the flow of blood. We read of no protestors at Jesus' crucifixion; mourners, yes. If there was any significant protest or revolt, the gospel writers did not think it relevant to mention (many of his closest community scattered). Surely in Jesus' words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" we can perceive, or at the very least infer, the violence of silence.Silence in the throes of violence is a form of violence itself. When major American media outlets are silent when 22 or more people, worshipping in a mosque, are murdered by a suicide bomber in Maiduguri, Nigeria, salt is poured into gaping wounds, inflicting further violence. When CNN, Fox, MSNBC, and local media outlets ignore or footnote the murder of black and brown bodies, they do violence to the families and communities who mourn and render inconsequential the lives taken. And the violators are further emboldened because they can continue to inflict violence upon the vulnerable in the invisibility or shadows constructed by the darkness of the world's silence.The silence perpetuates a culture that considers those black bodies as more disposable than others. Silence in the face of violence demonstrates and reinforces a low value placed on certain lives, most often diminishing the significance of brown, black, and poor people's lives. If we were there, if we know of the violence and we say or do nothing in protest, our silence is violence. I once sat in a meeting of some peers, Christians, the only female present (and at that meeting the only black person), and was told by the most influential voice in the room that "you will vote with us." I did not, because it was not in the best interest of many black and brown bodies for me to do so. But I was more hurt, felt more violated, by the silence of my peers than by the bullying tactics of the one. When people are being or have been violated, silence is violence.Statistics show that when women of color are murdered and/or raped, the violence inflicted against them generally receives no news coverage. Media cooperation is often crucial in solving crimes. And how it is done, if done, determines whether the public will sympathize with the victim. If the victim is painted as less than perfect and dehumanized, as is the case with most minority victims, there will be little to no public protest or cooperation. Many of us don't protest the media silence because we have been convinced that those so violated were responsible for their own deaths and or rapes; that they were the victims of a "disgraceful" violence because they lived unworthy or insignificant lives. Perhaps, many felt the same about Jesus of Nazareth ("Can any good thing come from Nazareth?") and his death row inmates. Our silence or failure to protest, to demand that their lives, their pain matters as much as someone else's is a form of violence in itself. Our silence, our lack of protest helps to maintain a hierarchy of human worth wherein certain violated bodies, primarily brown, black, poor, nonChristian, other-gendered bodies, deserve little to no protest and thus we inflict violence upon violence. Our silence in the face of violence is violence. The blood soaked ground and those living in the throes of violence cry out, "my God, my God, why have you forsaken us?" Silence is not an option, not for the godly, not for the humane, not for those of us who claim to be nonviolent!

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Now I understand why pregnant women don’t like to tell
people that they are pregnant until they are certain that everything is fine,
especially if they have lost a child and/or have been unable to carry it full
term. As I wait, having done all that I am supposed to do, people ask me what’s
going on with my adoption.I know I
opened the door, but to be honest being asked constantly

, not by the same
person, but by different people can add to my anxiety. I am forced to talk
about what I can’t do anything about at this point.I can only wait.I have been reminded again that the system is
overburdened, that the system is run by people who have their own lives and
issues and that mine will not necessarily take priority, that faith is not
knowing but continuing to hope for the best… I know it takes time. For me, it
has been over a year since I started this process.However, some of my friends and well-wishers
have only come to my story a short time ago or during this waiting segment;
this is not where my story began. But I still must wait and continue to prepare
to receive my child.One can never be
over prepared or fully prepared to parent a child.I have never been more anxious and looking
forward to my life to be drastically interrupted. And I don’t even know, I’m
sure, what all that will entail.I’m
looking forward to it because it is not about me.I have never had some overwhelming desire to
be a mother, biologically. And it has nothing to do with loving children. I don’t
even fully understand why. But I do have a deep commitment to make a positive
difference in a child’s life at this time of my life.

What am I doing while I wait? Making adjustments. I teach
evening classes and so I have not been a morning person, not consistently.During this waiting period I am turning my
body clock around, instead of doing a drastic 180 when she arrives. I have
commenced going to bed early (or at least laying in bed for three hours before
falling asleep at the time I would have normally gone to bed late). That will
take time too! I have writing commitments that I am trying to get a jump on
knowing that it will take time when the child arrives to work out a new or
different writing schedule. And I know there will always be interruptions. I
decided it is time for me to get a primary care doctor, rather than just going
to specialty physicians. I am taking care of the stress I have had for some
time in my lower back, which has turned into sciatica.I need to be able to stand in long lines with
less physical discomfort and so I am in therapy for my back. A week before I
started therapy I had a marvelous hot-stone massage from a masseuse that definitely
knows which muscles need the most attention and how much attention; my back
felt brand new for several days.That
will be my long term therapy, and I will need to budget for it.

I am making other adjustments during this waiting period as
well, and I am sure I will discover others. So I will try to be grateful for
this time even as I look forward to the future. Hopefully in the next week I
will receive a report on the child I am interested in adopting. Nevertheless, I
pray each day for my child to be that she is safe and well-loved in the
meantime.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

As some of you know from a recent Facebook post, my journey to motherhood is on track. I have finally been assigned a licensing caseworker and she made her first home visit with me shortly thereafter. Yay! I am very pleased with the experience, professionalism, expertise, and compassion that my licensing worker brings to this process. She has worked as an adoption worker as well as a foster care caseworker. She brings over ten years of experience to the ministry of helping me through this life altering journey. In

addition to several forms that Ms. K, as I will call her, required that I fill out during our first home visit, she checked the temperature of my hot water; it was too hot (more than 120 degrees F). I have a temperature control dial on my hot water heater, so I have attempted to cool it down. Ms. K will recheck it during the second home visit this month. Ms. K also had to measure all the rooms in the house to make sure there is adequate space for the number of people who will be living in the household including the child (just me and her). She had a gadget that she placed on an opposite wall and it beamed a red light to the other end giving her the measurements from wall to wall -- cool. I think it is a laser distancing tool. She also asked about any medicines I take and whether they are properly stored away. The only medications I take on occasion are aspirin, Aleve or Ibuprofen, which are kept in the medicine cabinet or in my purse. That seemed to satisfy Ms. K.

When the child first enters my care, she will be a ward of the state and thus in foster care while in my home until the adoption is finalized. Thus, the state will make sure that every effort is made to maintain a safe and healthy home environment. I had to develop a home evacuation plan in case of a fire or other emergency, submitting a copy to the agency and keeping one for myself. I will discuss this plan with the child when she arrives in my home. Also, a phone must remain in the home at all times for emergencies. Since land lines are being phased out, it is now acceptable to have a cell phone that is always kept in the home (along with emergency contact numbers). Check!

Something I never thought about as a safety risk was the small pond behind my apartment. Post the first home study visit, Ms. K informed me that I must put an alarm or bell on the patio door that faces the pond. To my surprise there are several types of wireless bells or alarms that can be easily installed. I purchased a set of two for about $15 at Home Depot, placing one on the sliding glass door and one on the screen door as well. As soon as one opens either door a loud shrieking sound alerts me that the doors have been breached. It took me less than five minutes to stall them.Ms. K did not leave me without my homework. I had to complete an eighteen page self home study that asked me in detail about my upbringing, my parents and their backgrounds, my siblings and my relationship with them growing up and now, all the schools I attended, what I learned from my parents and what I would do differently, my knowledge of child development, what values I would install in my child, my parenting style, the demographics of my neighborhood, the schools my child would likely attend, what recreation facilities and parks are available, my faith and religious habits, my work history, etc etc. I sat down for hours to reflect and complete the self home study. This was a good and helpful exercise. I am becoming more and more aware of how planning, intentionality, and consistency will be my some of my closest allies. Another lengthy form that I had to complete was a self assessment of the characteristics and challenges I was not willing to deal with or would be willing to deal with with appropriate training -- issues like bed wetting, aggressions, withdrawal, sexual abuse, children who are on medication, mental disabilities of various levels, etc. I know that it is important for me to be realistic about what I can physically, emotionally, and logistically handle. I know that some issues could arise later in life, but I must be honest with myself in terms of my situation now. I will, of course, continue to work/teach (God willing), but also to write. This expectation figures into what kind of issues I can handle or want to handle. While I plan to devote the necessary time to the child I adopt to ensure she is well nurtured (educationally,emotionally, spiritually and physically) and loved, I cannot lose sight of self care and nurture. I will certainly have to rearrangement my life, but I don't have to give up my other goals, as some seem to think or have suggested. Someone recently said to me that I would not be to write anymore. I feel that a big part of what I do or do not continue to do is up to me and my ability to be creative and take care of myself while taking care of my daughter. It will certainly be an adjustment(s), and it will likely be quite rocky at first. But I believe it is doable, and with sanity.Over my lifetime there have been people (non family) to offer me help, but when the time came to do what they offered, they fell short -- too often. So I was (and maybe still am) a little worried about my support system. All of my immediate family (siblings, nieces, nephews) live in Ohio. Since I started on this journey several people outside of my biological family have said that they would be a part of my support system when I need someone to step in and care for my child in emergencies, particularly. I was told that people will promise to help but whether or not they will submit to the needed background check is another thing. So far the three people who offered to be a source of support have submitted to background checks. I am grateful! I am also grateful for sisters who have adopted (one a baby and another a teenager) who have stepped forward to offer a listening ear and/or advice -- they know who they are. At a later time and with their permission I might mention their names.I was also very pleased when Ms. K offered to reach out to the caseworker of the child I am interested in adopting. She has requested a report on the child and when it arrives it will be shared with me. Keep praying for me and for my child to be--wherever or whoever she may be.

Friday, August 7, 2015

I wrote this poem and posted it to Facebook on June 1, 2015, before I started my adoption blog. Later I may be able to talk about the significance of this poem.

Adoption
by

Mitzi Smith

we have not met
not in my flesh
but what i know
about
you hope
to become
somebody's child
i hope
to become
somebody's momma
like you
who loves laughter,
math,
barbie dolls,
riding your bicycle,
kick ball, and
Dr. Seuss
And me
And I, you
i believe
we will meet
and read
together
green eggs and ham,
and so much more.

Monday, August 3, 2015

According to the foster care/adoption literature, websites, and
media ads, there is a tremendous need for foster/adoptive parents in this
country. Consequently, one might expect that the road to adoption for eligible
potential adoptive parents would be relatively smooth. But this is far from
being the case. I am not saying that anybody should be able to adopt or foster
a child or that there shouldn’t be a valid process and standards.
But on my journey I am hearing that in too many cases the road to adopting a
child out of the foster care system is very discouraging, sometimes painful, and
even impossible. In fact after sharing my disappointments,
stops and starts, some people have suggested that I consider adopting a child
from overseas! However, I am not ready to give up. I should not have to give up
on adopting a child in my own "back yard." I admit that I did not expect
the kind of experiences that I have had thus far.

My journey formally began two years ago when I attended an
orientation at a large local foster/adoption agency. There were only about five
prospective foster/adoptive parents present, which seems to be about the norm. The
facilitator was so negative that if I had any doubts about adopting she
nurtured them. I cannot remember one positive remark that might have been said
at that orientation. An agency can be candid and realistic without being overly
negative.

A year later I regrouped and signed up to attend an orientation at
another local agency that was recommended to me. Two heterosexual couples (one black and one
white) and two single black women, myself included, attended the orientation. Of
the six, only four attended the follow up mandatory PRIDE (Parent Resources for
Information, Development, and Education) training (takes place on three
Saturdays). The other single woman and I expressed our interest in adoption
only. She wanted to adopt her grandchildren out of the system. Much of the PRIDE
training was conducted by an experienced foster care parent, a mature and
retired African American lady whose biological children were grown and out of
the house. Many people don’t know that most foster parents are
fifty years and older. She and her husband foster only boys with disabilities,
the difficult children to place. Their foster children are of various races and
ethnicities. She shared a wealth of experience and wisdom with us. I was
hopeful that I had found the right agency for me.

At both the orientation and the PRIDE training, attendees were
asked to fill out the same application form. On the form we were asked whether
we planned to adopt or foster, the gender, how many children, and the age range.
I discovered during the training that in Michigan there cannot be more than fifty
years difference between the child and the adoptive parent. One of the only
ways around this rule is if one fosters a younger child or baby and the
baby/child becomes a permanent ward of the state (parental rights are
terminated) and thus available for adoption. Then the foster parent(s) may be
given priority as adoptive parents regardless of age difference, if there is no
eligible biological family willing to adopt the child. On each application I
wrote that I wanted to adopt one female African American child at least eight
years old. And when verbally asked, I
reiterated my intention to adopt. Each time the response was "we recommend
becoming a foster parent first." Those conversations should have been a
warning to me.

In the last segment of the PRIDE training two African American
teens from Wendy's Kids shared some of their stories with us and then responded
to questions. Both young ladies struck me as very intelligent, talented, and
sincere. One became a ward of the state when her mother died. Her aunt had
promised the mother to take care of her daughter but the aunt got married and
the child no longer fit into the scheme of things. Both young ladies stressed
that potential adoptive parents need to get to know them personally and not
rely on words written about them in a file, which may or may not be true. A
white male who was there with his wife asked the teens why they wanted to be
adopted when they both were almost eighteen years old. I reminded myself that “there
are no dumb questions.”
The teenagers responded that everybody wants to belong somewhere no
matter how old they are. There was hardly a dry eye nor an untouched heart in
the room.

When the training ended, we were told that we would be assigned a
licensing worker within two weeks to set up home visits and that meanwhile we
should collect the items we would need for that visit (e.g., reference letters,
criminal background check, TB test, physician’s report from physical exam, etc). I had already begun collecting the items and
had almost everything checked off the list. After a week I was impressed to
call and follow up with the agency. The licensing supervisor was in a meeting
so I left a voice message. She did not return my call, so I called again. This
time she took the call and said to me that "nobody gave me your
file." She proceeded to interrogate me on the phone, and finally claimed
that there was not a great need for adoptive parents for African American
females age 8-10. I challenged her statement; all the literature her agency
gave to us and that I have read says otherwise. She said that she would get
back to me. When she did not get back to me in what I felt was a reasonable
time, I followed up by faxing a letter recounting her conversation with me and
cc'ing the president of the agency. Within a few minutes of my sending the fax,
she called me stating that they only have one case worker who does the licensing
I need and that case worker would not be available for three months. I
responded, “then please give me an appointment with her in three months.”
"I will need to contact her," she responded. I said, “please
do so. I don’t think this is an unreasonable
request, is it?" The licensing supervisor never got back to me, but
instead sent me a letter stating that they are a small agency and are unable to
meet my needs. The letter named other agencies I might try. The one I am using
now was not listed in her letter. The good thing about this whole fiasco is
that my PRIDE training is transferable to any licensing agency. In my current agency, I was told that the
licensing processing should start immediately upon filling out the application
to become an adoptive/foster parent. This had not happened with me.

The agency matters, as successful adoptive parents have told me
and as I have found out. And all are not created equal, nor are all licensing
and case workers. Since I am still going through the process I will not reveal
at this time on my blog the names of the agencies to which I refer. Pray with
me that the current agency with which I am dealing will demonstrate compassion,
professionalism, and competency. Pray for me that I will not give up or give in
to a less than optimally functioning system. Pray for the child that I hope to
eventually mother and nurture that she is safe and loved, in the meantime.

A Voice from the South ~Anna Julia Cooper (19th Cent. Educator, Activist, Proto-womanist)

Only the BLACK WOMAN can say "when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me."

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Don't let anyone or thing tell you what you cannot do or what it is too late to do, not even the broken tape playing in your head! Write your own story!

Personal Reflection

Sometimes I have put my feet up, when I should have "put my foot down"; I've said "yes" when I should have said "no" and said "no" when I should have said "yes." Good news: It is never too late to change!

Ashland Theological Seminary/Detroit

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Courage for the Journey

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear. The Lord is the stronghold of my life of what shall I be afraid." Psalm 27:1

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Beauty all around God's world

Women

They were women thenMy mama's generationHusky of voice--stout ofStepWith fists as well asHandsHow they battered downDoorsAnd ironedStarched whiteShirtsHow they ledArmiesHeadragged generalsAcross minedFieldsBooby-trappedDitchesTo discover booksDesksA place for usHow they knew what weMust knowWithout knowing a pageOf itThemselves ~ Written by Alice Walker

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"I am a woman's rights...Why children, if you have woman's rights, give it to her and you will feel better. You will have your own rights, and they won't be so much trouble. I can't read, but I can hear, and I have heard the bible and have learned that Eve caused man to sin. Well, if woman upset the world, do give her a chance to set it right side up again..."

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